UK

Sir Keir Starmer has offered a major concession to Labour MPs that were divided over the government’s controversial plans to cut welfare spending. A growing rebellion had threatened to halt the measures, as the crunch vote is still set for Tuesday.Whether the changes will stave off the rebellion remains to be seen, as some signal they are still not happy with the package of measures.Earlier in the week, more than 120 Labour MPs signed a “reasoned amendment” to the bill which would deliver the measures. If passed, it would effectively stop it in its tracks for the time being.Sir Keir Starmer has U-turned in the face of a massive Labour rebellion over welfare cuts More

Sir Keir Starmer was staring down the barrel of a long weekend on the phone to Labour rebels, pleading with them to come around before Tueday’s crunch vote. The prime minister was hoping to stave off a rebellion from backbench MPs over his plans to make life significantly more difficult for some of their most hard up constituents. So it will have been a relief for the PM when lead rebel Dame Meg Hillier accepted his £1.5bn U-turn as a “positive outcome”, all but guaranteeing his welfare bill will survive Tuesday’s vote.Despite the late concession, the prime minister’s U-turn has not solved his problems, but simply stored them up for another day. Sir Keir Starmer said he wanted his welfare reforms to be in line with Labour values of ‘fairness’ More

Sir Keir Starmer has announced his latest U-turn: a £1.5bn change of course over his flagship welfare bill. The prime minister last month announced plans to reverse his controversial cuts to winter fuel payments, saying he wants more pensioners to be eligible for the benefit – a move that has now been confirmed.And, overnight on Thursday he confirmed his latest U-turn in a bid to stave off a mass rebellion over his plans to cut £5bn from the benefits bill. With Labour still reeling from its devastating performance at the local elections, there is also speculation Sir Keir will lift the two-child benefit cap. While nothing has been announced yet, the prime minister is privately said to be in favour of lifting the cap – but has refused to commit to anything until the child poverty strategy is published in the autumn.Below, The Independent looks at all the times Sir Keir has U-turned on his promises or let voters down on the journey from Labour leader to prime minister.Sir Keir Starmer has been repeatedly accused of u-turning on key issues More

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce major concessions on his controversial welfare reforms as concerns grow that the government will need to raise taxes to pay for the dramatic climbdown.After a day of crisis talks with rebel Labour MPs, The Independent understands the prime minister has offered to water down his package of reforms, including protecting Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for all existing claimants, meaning only new claimants would be subject to tougher rules.The concessions could shave up to £2bn off the £5bn worth of planned savings from the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, and follows Downing Street’s refusal to rule out tax rises for any changes.At least 126 Labour MPs have signed an amendment that would effectively have killed the welfare cuts off, piling pressure on the prime minister to back down amid fears of a damaging Commons defeat at the second reading of the bill next week. On Thursday night, a deal was still being thrashed out between the rebels and the government. It marks a major U-turn for the prime minister, who will now hope the costly concessions will lead to an agreement and starve off the rebellion within his party.However, the government could now face a new headache after top economists warned that failing to pass the reforms would wipe out Rachel Reeves’s financial headroom ahead of her Budget this autumn, meaning a tax rise or cuts to spending elsewhere would be needed to plug the gap. Keir Starmer in the Commons on Thursday More

Keir Starmer’s flagship smoking ban risks breaching a key post-Brexit deal with the European Union and is “heading straight for the courts”, a former Tory justice secretary has warned. Robert Buckland says he was initially supportive of the plans, which will see Britain ban smoking for an entire generation. But now he says the government “must hit pause” or risk a legal car crash. Under the plans anyone currently aged 15 or younger will never be able to buy cigarettes legally, as the UK slowly becomes a smoke-free country. The idea was launched with great fanfare by Rishi Sunak, but enthusiastically backed by Labour when the Tories were kicked out of power last summer. Sir Robert says the right to buy legal goods like tobacco is protected under the Windsor Framework and the Good Friday Agreement More

The Trump administration has lashed out at the UK after MPs passed Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill – accusing Britain of “standing for surrender and death”.The president’s State Department said the US “reaffirms the sanctity of life” in an attack on the Labour MP’s Terminally Ill Adults Bill. “The western world should stand for life, vitality and hope over surrender and death,” it said in a social media post from its Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour. Sir Keir Starmer said he is confident an assisted dying law would be workable (Ben Stansall/PA) More

Sir Keir Starmer seemed chipper as he boarded the plane home from the Nato summit on Wednesday evening. He cheerily thanked hacks in the travelling press delegation for what he said had been a great two-day trip to The Hague. And looking at Nato alone, it had been a success. Across the board, allies signed up to a historic increase in defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP. After briefly wavering on his commitment to Article 5, even Donald Trump fell in line. And following a public love-in with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte – who unnervingly, dubbed him the “daddy” between the two warring nations of Iran and Israel – the US president conceded that the alliance was no longer a “rip off”, saying he is with is his European friends “all the way”. Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer is facing a significant threat to his authority More

With more than 120 Labour MPs backing a rebellious amendment and tensions mounting over controversial welfare reforms, Sir Keir Starmer is facing one of the biggest challenges to his leadership since taking office.The prime minister’s plan to restrict access to disability benefits and overhaul sickness-related support has triggered a furious backlash from within his own party, forcing him into emergency talks to avoid a humiliating Commons defeat. The rebellion, focused on concerns that the reforms could deepen poverty and undermine Labour’s core values, comes despite warnings from party leadership that dissenters could face deselection.While Starmer has insisted reform is essential to fix a “broken system” and deliver “Labour values of fairness,” critics argue that the proposed cuts mark a worrying departure from those very values. Behind the scenes, dissatisfaction with his top team – particularly chief of staff Morgan McSweeney – is also growing, with some MPs calling for a “regime change” in Downing Street.The leadership is hoping to buy time and make concessions before next week’s crucial vote, but the damage may already be done.In a poll of Independent readers, 49 per cent said they felt that the reforms unfairly targeted vulnerable people. They warned that the cuts will “break people,” leave carers “destitute,” and impose a human cost many feel is being ignored.On the other side of the debate, 28 per cent said they agreed with Starmer’s reforms, while an additional 23 per cent expressed general support for welfare reform, though not for the proposals currently on the table.We want to hear from you. Do you think Starmer’s leadership has been weakened by this welfare rebellion? Or is he showing the kind of resolve required to govern?Share your thoughts in the comments and vote in the poll above – we’ll feature the most compelling responses and discuss the results in the coming days.All you have to do is sign up and register your details, then you can take part in the debate. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen. More